Cocktails in Chelsea Read Online Free PDF

should let it down.’
    ‘All right,’ Tori looked doubtful. ‘Christie always says-,’
    ‘It’ll suit you better loose,’ Sofia said firmly, ‘Anyway, Christie’s not here. You’re getting changed too. That’s way too dressy, have you got anything more casual?’
    Tori shot up from her seat, shaking her hair out so that it fell in soft waves around her face. ‘I’ve got a pair of somewhere,’ she chewed her lip thoughtfully, ‘and a cashmere sweater and some leather riding boots. Will that do?’
    Sofia sighed, thinking of her own battered skinny jeans, comfy purple jumper and Converse trainers. ‘Yes, that’ll do.’
    Their day went to plan and Sofia took more photos on her phone than she knew it could hold, laughing with Tori as the wind whipped their hair around their faces on the bank of the grey Thames and gasping at the astounding views of the city from a capsule at the top of the iconic London Eye. Cajoling Tori into sharing a mid-afternoon cream cake in a cafe near Borough Market, it also took pleasingly little effort to talk her into watching the Premiership game in a high-street pub. It was too late to get match tickets but they got a spot near the flat-screen TV, which was good enough for Sofia.
    The atmosphere in the pub was good-natured and other customers threw comments at the screen when a player missed a goal, or moaned when Stoke City got a corner. Tori was a big hit with a group of Chelsea supporters at the next table over and the girls ended up sitting with the men during the second half. Tori even had some beer and, dizzy with daytime drinking, flipped beer mats with one of the men, a cute red-haired joker who kept taking the piss out of her for being posh. Sofia watched with a smile, joining in with the fun. At one point, Tori wiggled closed to Sofia, exhaling beery breath into her ear. ‘I think I might like a bit of rough, Sof. What do you think?’
    Sofia smirked, ‘I think you’re a bit drunk, but it’s not such a bad idea.’
    After the match, when the men had departed with hugs and waves, leaving a few of their numbers behind, Sofia leaned back in her chair. ‘You know Tori, this is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen you.’ There was a softness to her face that made her look gorgeous and carefree, and Sofia remembered the girl was actually a couple of years younger than her.
    ‘It’s the most relaxed I’ve ever been, I think. Thank you for such a fab day,’ her friend replied, nodding. Pausing, she looked Sofia in the eye, swaying slightly. ‘You didn’t have a headache last night, did you? Or if you did, that wasn’t why you wanted to leave. Something happened between you and that barman you kept staring at.’
    Sofia grimaced. Had she been that obvious? Bugger. ‘Well, I…’
    Tori flapped her hand around, ‘It’s fine. Don’t make up excuses. But you do know he came and asked us your name, when you were outside on the phone to your sister?’
    ‘No…’ She’d had no idea. But now she thought of it, hadn’t he called her by name as she ran out?
    ‘Yes.’ Tori nodded. ‘I think he liked you.’
    ‘You do?’ The memory of Nathan's kiss had resurfaced constantly during the day, no matter how much she tried to forget it.
    ‘Yes. Come on,’ the other girl pushed out of her chair, looking determined. ‘Let’s go home and get changed. We’re going back to the bar.’
    Sofia rose slowly, grabbing her jacket and shrugging into it. ‘I don’t know.’ The thought was scary and exciting at the same time. Maybe she should listen to Tori though. She'd basically run away from Nathan, and maybe he’d have something else to say to her, once he wasn’t so angry?
    ‘We really need to go.’ Tori tugged on her elbow.
    ‘You think he liked me that much?’ Sofia raised an eyebrow.
    ‘I’m not sure. Maybe.’ Tori tapped the expensive gold watch on her wrist, and held up her phone, which had a list of missed calls on the screen. ‘But I’ve just realised